The Kerala Government on Tuesday issued an order cancelling all celebrations held at official level using public funds for a year in the context of the disaster brought about by the unprecedented flood and the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts, but various departments expressed surprise and disappointment at the decision.
As per the order, issued on Tuesday by the General Administration Department (GAD), festivals that uses public funds and are organised under the Government, like the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) and the State schools art festival, would not be held for the next one year. The festivals of the Department of Tourism also would be cancelled as per the order.
The departments in charge of holding such festivals have been asked to divert the money earmarked for the purpose to the Disaster Relief Fund. The Government had earlier cancelled the week-long official Onam celebrations due to the flood. The schools art festival of this academic year was scheduled to be held in Alappuzha, one of the worst-hit districts.
The decision to abandon festivals and celebrations was conveyed to the General Administration Department before Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan left for the US on September 2 for treatment for an as-yet-undisclosed ailment at Mayo Clinic at Rochester in Minnesota. No other department had any knowledge of the decision till the order was issued on Tuesday.
“There is need for clarity in the matter,” said Cultural Affairs Minister AK Balan, who expressed surprise at the order. “In my personal view, it would have been more appropriate if the festivals are celebrated by avoiding extravagance and over-expenditure,” Balan said. The Department of Culture wrote a letter to the State Chief Secretary seeking clarity in the matter.
Balan had come to know about the order after he had reached Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday morning for discussions on the film festival to be held in December. The order had come at a time when the Kerala State Chalachithra Academy, which is in charge of the film festival, was thinking of ways to generate additional revenue to aid flood relief operations.
“I am disappointed by the decision of the General Administration Department. I don’t know if this is a decision taken with the knowledge of the Chief Minister,” said filmmaker Kamal, chairman of the Chalachithra Academy. The Government had not cancelled the film festival last year even in the wake of the Cyclone Ockhi disaster.
The order came as a surprise for the Department of Education also as the Directorate of Public Instructions was to hold a meeting on Friday for taking decisions on the schools art festival and sports festival. “If you ask me, the right thing to do in this context is to hold the festivals. We could have done that by giving special attention to spending less,” said a department official.